


In My Heart is a Christmas Tree Farm

by CassidyLeora



Category: Kingdom Hearts
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Christmas Fluff, First Meetings, M/M, Minor Aqua/Terra (Kingdom Hearts), Sora and Vanitas Are Siblings (Kingdom Hearts), college boy ventus, tree farm employee vanitas, vanitas swears as usual, ven has a big ol hopeless crush, xion too
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-12-27
Updated: 2019-12-27
Packaged: 2021-02-24 15:41:19
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 6,641
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21980344
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/CassidyLeora/pseuds/CassidyLeora
Summary: Ventus is sent to pick out a new Christmas tree from the Nore Family Tree Farm, but it's not the tree he wants to take home
Relationships: Vanitas & Ventus (Kingdom Hearts), Vanitas/Ventus (Kingdom Hearts)
Comments: 11
Kudos: 69





	In My Heart is a Christmas Tree Farm

**Author's Note:**

> How many trees does Ventus have to buy before getting the courage to ask out his crush? Let's find out.

The Christmas tree farm was even bigger than Ventus expected, and just as cold as he anticipated. Bundled from head to toe in layers, he couldn’t help but be thankful he’d thought to throw on the extra thick scarf and gloves before leaving the house that morning.

When the sputtering engine of the truck he borrowed from Terra shut off, he could hear the faint sound of popular Christmas music playing across the area from speakers on poles that looked down upon the scene, growing louder over the creaking of the car door opening as Ventus pulled himself out of the car and shut it behind himself, sealing his own fate.

It seemed coming on such a cold morning wasn’t popular, judging by the sparse number of other cars pulled into the snow covered gravel area. Ventus was glad for it, never being one for crowds.

A large archway of lights and a hand painted sign reading “Nore Family Tree Farm” welcomed him before spreading out into a wide open space, full of rows of trees that continued on for who knows how far, more like a snowy forest than a tree farm. To the right set two large red barns decorated with twinkling lights and green wreaths, signs listing prices adorning the white wooden posts. A few people meandered through the aisles of trees, inspecting them, while a few others ventured in and out of the second barn, which seemed to house an assortment of decorations, lights, and secondhand items for sale. Aqua was right in saying this place was the real deal.

Glancing around warily, Ventus headed inside the area, drawing closer to one of the barns to read the prices, but he was promptly distracted by a sign selling hot chocolate and cider.

He stepped over to the barn door where only the top half was opened, much like a counter, where a girl stood behind it.

“Hello!” she greeted before Ventus could even open his mouth. “Can I help you with something?”

“Uh, yeah,” Ventus said, examining the sign. “Some cider sounds amazing.”

“Doesn’t it? Alright then, that’ll be 2 dollars!”

Ventus nodded, hurrying to pull out his wallet, and met the girl’s eyes as he handed the cash over. Her eyes were an even lighter shade of blue than his own, her short black hair half covered by a fluffy Santa hat.

She left the opening and busied herself inside with preparing his cider, leaving Ventus lost to his own thoughts about how he got dragged into this in the first place.

‘ _Just go grab a real tree this year, Ventus,_ ’ Aqua said. ‘ _Make sure it’s a big one!_ ’ When questioned why Ventus had to go out into the cold, alone, to pick up a tree for their shared house, there were a lot of excuses and incoherent mumbling from both her and Terra that answered nothing. Ventus suspected it had nothing to do with them being busy and everything to do with them wanting some time alone together with him out of the apartment. But who knows, they could have super important stuff to do instead. Ventus would at least pretend that was the case, and not that they were terribly lazy nor terribly in love.

“Here you go sir!” the girl chirped, setting a cup on the top of the wooden gate, steam drifting temptingly from the top.

It was strange having someone that must be around the same age as him calling him ‘sir’. “Thank you so much, uh, Xion!” he read the nametag on her festive green apron.

“No worries. So, is this your first time here? Do you need any help picking one out?” She asked, leaning against the gate once Ventus had taken the cup into his cold hands, warmed instantly through the gloves.

“Yeah, first time. My friends decided we should get a real tree this year, so I was sent to get a big one but… I’ve got no idea where to start,” he shrugged, taking a sip of the cider and relishing as it warmed his throat.

“I could help with that.”

The voice didn’t come from Xion, but instead from someone standing right behind him, which is why he spewed the cider out of his mouth and onto the side of the barn door. Thank god none of it got on Xion, but some did splatter the painted sign of prices, where it dripped down lazily.

“Shit, sorry, you okay?”

Ventus spun around to see the cause of his heart attack, and the answer made his heart flutter for a different reason, his cheeks flamed not only from embarrassment at spitting all over the counter.

A guy, a _very handsome guy_ , with eyes of burning ember, nearly gold, that met his immediately and seemed to glue him into place.

“I….” Ventus’ voice got lost somewhere in his throat, maybe from nearly choking on the cider or maybe from the guy’s hand that was reached out the foot between them to steady him if needed.

“Vanitas!” Xion chided from behind him, “I told you to stop swearing at the customers!”

“I’m not swearing _at_ the customers!” the guy, Vanitas, a quick glance at his name tag confirmed, glared over Ventus’ shoulder at Xion with a scowl.

“You _know_ that’s not what I—”

“You okay?” The scowl vanished as Vanitas looked back at Ventus, who was still trying to get his slightly burned tongue to work.

“Y-Yeah! Sorry about… Sorry,” he muttered, shifting backwards and maneuvering himself to the side, putting a bit of distance from the man and the counter to get his brain to work. “I didn’t hear you behind me.”

“He does that,” Xion sighed, resting her arms on the gate again. “His footsteps are silent, like a cat, scares the life out of me constantly.”

“I’m literally just walking normally,” Vanitas said, rolling his eyes.

With the bit of safe distance between them, Ventus could notice now that the two looked awfully similar—same silky black hair and pale complexion. Siblings, maybe?

Though Vanitas’ height and messier hair underneath his knit hat were noticeable differences, as was his build, which looked exactly how you would imagine someone who lifted around literal trees every day looked like, even beneath a flannel jacket and black jeans. Lean and toned, he could lift a tree, easily. He could lift Ventus easily. He could lift a tree _and_ Ventus, probably, which was something Ventus was suddenly eager to see.

“So, did you need help?” Vanitas prompted, a little impatiently, crossing his arms. Did he notice Ventus staring?

“No, I’m—”

“Yeah,” Xion interrupted, “He’s looking for a super big one but doesn’t know the first thing about trees.”

Vanitas snorted. “Yeah, looks like the type.”

What the hell does _that_ mean?

“The hell does that mean?”

“It means you look like a nerd.” Vanitas didn’t hesitate. “The type that gets all A’s and studies Physics or something.”

Okay, Ventus getting all A’s has nothing to do with this. “It’s astronomy, actually…” Ventus mumbled, squeezing the cup of cider between his hands tightly.

“And what’d I tell you about insulting our customers?” Xion sighed.

Vanitas couldn’t have rolled his eyes harder if he tried. He pushed off from leaning on the barn wall and brushed past Ventus with a jerk of his head. “Come on then, _nerd_ , let’s find you a tree.”

It only took a second for Ventus to blink at the floor, then see Xion brushing him eagerly away with a gesture of her hands, for him to turn on the spot and trail quickly after Vanitas, who was already heading towards the forest of fresh trees without waiting for him to follow.

Ventus fell into step slightly behind him—they were nearly the same height, but Vanitas’ extra length in his legs made it hard to keep up. “My name’s Ventus, by the way. You can stop calling me ‘nerd’.”

“Ooh,” he snickered, “Even sounds like a nerd’s name.”

Ventus nearly crushed his cider cup to hold himself back from smacking him. “And what, ‘ _Vanitas_ ’ sounds so much cooler?”

“It does actually, yeah,” he said flatly, and Ventus honestly couldn’t argue. It was a really nice name, at least he thought so.

“Well, most people call me Ven anyway.” Ventus peered over at Vanitas, who pulled a pair of working gloves out of his apron and began pulling one on as they walked through the aisles of trees.

“It’s horrible to meet you, ‘ _Ven_ ’. So how big of a tree are we talking here?”

Ventus couldn’t tell if it was the way Vanitas mockingly said his name in his smooth voice, or the way he finished pulling on his other black glove with a tug and a flex of his fingers, but all he knew is that when Vanitas finally looked over at him, he was in trouble.

“I uh…” Ventus glanced between the warm honeyed eyes, impatient as they waited for him to get his tongue working but no less striking, the flush from the cold winter wind on Vanitas’ cheeks only serving to accentuate the color more. Ventus was thankful for the excuse of the cold to hide the blush no doubt growing on his own cheeks. “Yes. Pretty big, I guess. Our entryway’s huge.”

Vanitas quirked his dark eyebrow and led the way towards the left, near the very back. “And I assume you’ve got the money to afford this kind of tree? I’d hate to waste my time.”

Ventus glared. “I’ve got plenty, thank you very much. We’re all chipping in to afford it this year anyway.”

“’We?’”

Ventus chugged the last of his cider while it was still hot. A little too hot, but that could have been because his sleeve kept brushing against Vanitas’ since they were side by side in the cramped rows of trees. Oddly enough, Vanitas actually sounded curious, despite the fact that he didn’t even glance over. “Me, Terra and Aqua. They both work in the medical field and let me rent a house with them while I’m studying since we grew up together. They got bored of the plastic tree, so here I am…”

Vanitas spared him a look this time but didn’t bother to turn his head, “Grew up together? So, you’re family?”

Ventus was a little confused why Vanitas would even care to know more about him, but Ventus himself couldn’t deny that he wanted to know more about Vanitas. “They’re my family, yeah, but we’re not really siblings. We met in foster care.”

He nodded at this, tucking his gloved hands into his jean pockets and looking away. “Oh, sorry. I didn’t know.”

“No, it’s fine! I mean my mom died when I was born and my dad wasn’t in the picture, so… I’m really lucky I met Terra and Aqua right after.”

“Yeah, you were,” Vanitas said it too quietly, and suddenly Ventus wished he hadn’t made everything so serious. He fidgeted with his empty cup.

“But enough about me!” he finally said, stepping ahead to peer into Vanitas’ face. “What about you? Was that your sister back there?”

Vanitas snorted, and Ventus thought that it really was cruel how he could manage to make even _that_ sound cute. “Yeah, Xion’s younger by a year. This business is run just by us and our grandfather. And we’ve got an idiotic little brother running around here somewhere, Sora.”

“’Sora’,” Ventus repeated, watching the snow underneath his shoes. “Why does that sound familiar?”

Vanitas shrugged. “Hell should I know? We’re here.”

Ventus would have kept walking while he thought but manage to register the words before making himself look like even more of an idiot than he already had. He stopped next to Vanitas and gave a look around.

They were surrounded all around by towering pine trees, each one taller than two Ventus’ stacked on top of each other, and way too big to try and wrap your arms around. In all directions, more trees spawned out in the snow, even behind them where they’d come from. How long had they been walking? Just how big was this place?!

“ _Wow_ …” Ventus breathed, staring up at the very top of the one closest to him, the highest branches framed by the cloudy winter sky like a crown.

“So, you want that one?”

Ventus jumped again, but thankfully this time his cup was empty. Vanitas had snuck through the snow like a panther right behind him. Ventus barely dared to glance back at him, watching the top of the tree over his shoulder. Vanitas met his eyes and Ventus frantically stepped away to put distance between them. Vanitas gave him a look but decided not to comment and crossed his arms.

“I…Maybe? What other kind of trees do you have?

Vanitas shifted his weight onto one hip. “We’ve got Balsam Fir, Fraisier Fir, Concolor Fir, Douglas Fir, Blue Spruce, Norway Spruce, Scotch Pine, White P-“

“ _Stop!_ ” Ventus interrupted, overwhelmed, “I don’t know a single word you just said.”

Vanitas’ lips quirked upwards, not surprised. Even smirking mockingly at Ventus, he still somehow looked hot, that ass. “I forgot that you’re a Tree Virgin.”

“ _Excuse_ me?”

“Let’s narrow it down then,” Vanitas sighed. “If you’re afraid of hurting your delicate little hands on the needles, I’d suggest you go with a pine or fir instead of a spruce.”

“A spruce is just fine,” Ventus scowled out of spite. Vanitas was charming until he opened his mouth.

Vanitas jerked his head to the side and led the way a few rows over, where he stopped in front of even more trees, but…

“They look the same.”

With the indignant look on Vanitas face, Ventus wondered how long it would take for them to find the body if he was killed and buried all the way out here.

“Shut the hell up, _nerd!_ ” Vanitas hissed. “Are you blind? They look nothing alike!”

Ventus leaned a little bit closer to a branch to examine it, the smell of wood thick and strong. “Nope, looks the same to me.”

Vanitas shoved his hands back into his pockets, likely to hold himself back from strangling Ventus. “I wouldn’t expect a city-boy like you to understand. Do you want the damn tree or not?”

Ventus decided not to comment, returning his scathing look instead and taking a step back. “I already said, I don’t know. Is it a… good tree? I mean, what should I be looking for?”

“All of our trees are good,” Vanitas mumbled, but pushed past Ventus with a breath that Ventus would call a huff and reached into the tree. “But, generally, greener is better. You could check the trunk of the tree, here. It should feel a little sticky. Or you could gently grab a branch and pull towards you like this. If a bunch of needles fall off, it’s a bad tree, get a different one. Of course, none of our trees will do that since, as I said, they’re all good trees.”

Ventus watched his hand as he demonstrated the action, nodding dumbly. He wandered over to a different tree and, mostly out of curiosity, attempted to repeat the movement. The twigs scratched against the knit glove on his hand but, as he said, no needles fell off this one either. “Like that?”

“Just like that,” Vanitas confirmed, and could that be a hint of pride in his voice? “Lastly, you can bend a needle and, if it breaks, that means the tree’s too dry.”

Ventus tried bending one of them between his fingers, just to see what would happen. “It didn’t snap!”

“ _Obviously,_ ” Vanitas chuckled and stepped over next to him, his boots crunching on the snow the only sound besides the gentle wind brushing through the trees. “So, you want this one?”

Tilting his head and looking over the tree, Ventus sized it up. It was just as big as the others, maybe a bit taller, but the shape was even, and the limbs were thick and full, a rich green like the finest velvet. It was, all things considered, the perfect tree, but so was the one on the left and to the right. So, Ventus figured he didn’t need to be picky.

“Sure! I think Terra and Aqua will love it,” Ventus smiled, tilting his neck to look up at the very top, imagining their handmade star of crystals already sitting at the top.

He was knocked out of his fantasy by Vanitas’ silence. Only knowing the guy for an hour, Ventus was already used to him always having something to say, especially in response to something as sappy as that. So, he shifted his eyes down to where he still stood with his arms crossed next to the tree, facing Ventus.

His face was a mix of annoyance and wariness, and he rolled his eyes once Ventus looked at him.

“Leave it to the space nerd to pick out the biggest damn tree we have—” he muttered under his breath, pushing past Ventus. “ _—SORA!_ ”

The shout made Ventus stumble back a step, so used to the stifling silence only snow and thick trees provided. “What the—”

“ _SORAAA!_ ” Vanitas called back to the direction they’d come, gloved hands cupped around his mouth. _“WE SOLD THE BIG FUCKIN’ TREE, BRING THE CART!_ ”

Ventus could almost make out a reply, but it easily could have been a bird in the distance for all he could make out. Vanitas didn’t seem to struggle to understand the apparent reply, and turned back around, whipping out a saw from the belt around his hips.

Ventus once again retreated a few steps hastily, but Vanitas only raised an eyebrow and flipped it around in one smooth movement, offering it over.

“You want to cut it down yourself? It usually costs extra, but I’ll let you do it for free if I get to watch.” Vanitas’ smile was comparable to the Cheshire Cat’s, eager for prey.

“No, you’re just trying to make me look dumb,” Ventus complained.

“I don’t have to do anything to make you look dumb,” Vanitas assured him, “You do that just fine on your own.”

He gave the saw another shake, but Ventus crossed his arms, refusing to budge.

Vanitas muttered something that Ventus was probably glad he couldn’t hear, and returned to the chosen tree, dropping to his knees in the snow by the trunk.

He leaned down, taking the saw in both hands, but stopped and looked up at Ventus, “You gonna help me or what?”

“Help you?” Ventus’ voice was too high pitched, looking down at Vanitas, his unruly black hair underneath his knit hat at the perfect height at his waist to reach out and ruffle, golden eyes peering up at him through dark eyelashes.

“Hold these bottom branches up,” he explained impatiently, pulling the sleeves of his red flannel up to his elbows and tightening his gloves.

“ _Okay,_ okay, fine.”

Ventus unsteadily sank to his knees as well, joining Vanitas at the foot of the tree, and reached his arms out to lift some of the branches out of the way for Vanitas to work.

And work he did. Which Ventus got to see up close and personal— _too_ close. He couldn’t decide if this was a gift or a curse, even as he watched in a daze as Vanitas set the saw in the center of the trunk and began to cut it down, the muscles in his arms flexing, the tan skin of his forearm marked with faint white scars from years of hard work.

It must have only barely 40 seconds with how skilled Vanitas was after doing this who knows how many times, but it seemed like forever with Ventus leaned in so close, could smell the scent of pine and spruce mingling with the fresh soap wafting up from Vanitas, the top of his head nearly brushing Ventus’. It wasn’t until a foreboding creaking sound came from the tree that he noticed he had been staring, and he only had a second to brace himself before watching the tree teeter and fall away from them, a poof of snow puffing up from the sides as it landed on it’s side.

“And that’s how it’s done!” Vanitas shot him a smile that was probably supposed to be cocky, but Ventus could only notice the sharpness of his canines, the way his flushed red cheeks squinted against his eyes, the perfectly subtle crinkle on his nose.

Ventus probably would have said something really profound like “ _Uhn-nhuhn_ ”, but was spared by the distant sound of clattering, that steadily grew louder as whatever it was headed straight towards them.

Eye flitting here and there to try and see what was happening, he latched onto whatever was closest. Which happened to be Vanitas’ arm, who breathed out a laugh at his reaction.

His panic was unwarranted when, around the corner of the nearby row of trees, came a large metal cart, wheels tall and clacking over the snow, being pushed from behind by an overly excited boy.

“The big one?” The boy asked excited. By the protesting squeaks of the cart, he was plowing towards them way too fast.

“Yep,” Vanitas replied as he came to a stop on front of them. He still hadn’t pulled his arm loose from Ventus’ grip. “This idiot was dumb enough to pick it out.”

“I thought we’d never sell that one,” the little brother gasped, lowering a hand down to Ventus. “I’m Sora, it’s nice to meet you!”

Ventus took the hand and was helped to his feet, Sora giving it a firm shake before letting go.

“I’m Ventus, call me Ven… Hey, wait,” Ventus said quietly as he examined the boy’s face. Wild brown hair with a reindeer antler headband poking between the layers, dark freckles scattered across round tan cheeks, bright blue eyes that looked just like his sister’s… “You’re Sora? I know you! Don’t we go to the same university?”

“Traverse Academy? Yeah! I’m a music major. You’re…?”

“Astronomy! You hang out with one of Terra’s friends—Riku?”

“He’s my boyfriend!”

“I knew I recognized your name!”

“Not that this isn’t touching,” Vanitas drawled, standing up and hooking the saw back to his belt, “but can one of you help me with this tree now?”

“What, you’re too cool for college?” Ventus teased “Or could you just not get in one?”

“I could get in if I wanted to,” Vanitas scoffed. “I’ve got the family business; I don’t need anything else.”

Sora frowned at him. “That’s not true, you take piano classes at— _HAACKG_ ”

His words were effectively cut off by the arm Vanitas quickly tightened around his throat, putting his little brother in a headlock that had him stumbling and choking. “Shut up and help me with this tree, loser.”

Vanitas drug Sora away, Sora shoving loose from Vanitas’ hold, Vanitas shoving him back just as roughly as the two went to lift the tree together.

Piano, huh? Vanitas certainly had the long and slender fingers for it, Ventus thought, but it was pretty hard to imagine. Vanitas, don’t something so gentle and beautiful as playing Mozart on a grand piano? In his ripped jeans and combat boots? The mental image was conflicting, two things that shouldn’t exist at the same time, and yet… In a way it made sense. Just like Vanitas’ eyes that were a smoldering campfire one second and flashing with a dangerous gold the next, or his sneering teeth that could carry so much venom, hidden behind pale pink lips that looked smooth like silk. The duality was something that both intimidated and fascinated Ventus.

Sora and Vanitas managed to maneuver the large tree onto the metal tray with much complaining and bossing around (from Vanitas). The branches still hung out over the side and the trunk jutted far off the end, but Vanitas grabbed hold of the bar at the front anyway and began to tug it back towards the barns in the distance, Sora taking a position near the rear to keep the tree steady. Ventus followed after them, amused that even with their bickering, the two worked well together without needing words. They really did look alike too, their high cheekbones, slender noses, and pretty almond shaped eyes nearly identical.

The trip back went quickly, with only a few close calls that were easily solved with Sora and Ventus shifting the tree back into place, Vanitas complaining the whole way as he pulled the heavy cart through the snow behind himself, throwing insults at their sloppy job over his shoulder back at them.

Xion watched from her place behind the counter, amused, as the three of them managed to clumsily navigate the giant tree out of the farm courtyard and past the archway, the sound of Christmas radio from the speakers filling the tree farm with music.

Ventus led the way to Terra’s truck, and decided it was better for everyone for him to just stand back and watch as Vanitas and Sora hefted the tree up off the cart and into the back of the truck, lest he get in the way and end up being impaled by a branch.

Once it was positioned, Vanitas strapped it in with impressive speed and efficiency, taking no time at all before dusting his hands off together and stepping back to admire his work.

“Alright nerd, that’s $115.” He held out his hand expectantly.

“Geez, you weren’t kidding about the price, huh,” Ventus breathed out, pulling out his wallet. Thankfully he had thought to bring cash, having not known if this place was high class enough to do card.

“I wasn’t kidding about the quality of tree, either,” he grinned in fake kindness, dropping the smile and swiping the money from Ventus’ hand seconds later and stuffing it into his apron pocket without even checking if it was enough. “Now, as soon as you get this thing home, put it in water. Keep it away from heaters or a fireplace—it’ll dry out in a day and we don’t do refunds.”

Ventus nodded, listening intently to his advice. “That’s fine, we don’t have a fireplace.”

“Great, now beat it,” Vanitas gave a dismissive goodbye wave of his hand and turned on his heel back towards the archway.

“It was great getting to meet you!” Sora grinned at Ventus, waving enthusiastically.

Ventus only got to wave back before Vanitas shoved his brother’s shoulder and pushed him back to work.

He watched them go, eyes trained on Vanitas and the self-confident sway in his hips that seemed to lure Ventus forwards. Despite how badly he wanted to stay, he forced himself into the car and drove home.

•❅──────✧❅✦❅✧──────❅•

Aqua and Terra managed to drag the tree inside their apartment, leaving needles and snapped branched in their trail, with the help of Ventus directing (more like shouting “ _there’s a couch there!_ ” mere seconds before Terra’s knees painfully collided with it).

A few days later, and the tree was fully lit and decorated, filling their entryway with warm yellow light, the smell of fresh spruce, and glistening reflections of their glass star ornaments. As beautiful as the tree was, Ventus couldn’t help but feel unfulfilled, his mind elsewhere.

“What are you thinking so hard about?” Aqua asked him one day as they ate dinner together. Their schedules didn’t often sync for them to sit down at the table, so it was strange he wasn’t fully in the moment.

Ventus had been staring longingly at the tree through the doorway. He snapped out of it quickly. “N-Nothing. Just thinking it looks nice, doesn’t it?”

“It does,” Terra confirmed, heaping nearly the whole plate of spaghetti onto his fork for his next bite. Aqua watched him in mild disgust. “It’s really nice quality too. Isn’t Nore Tree Farm the place where Riku’s boyfriend Sora works?”

Ventus nodded, unable to look away in morbid curiosity as Terra shoveled the spaghetti into his mouth, smearing sauce over his chin in the process. Aqua visibly jerked backwards. “Yeah, I met him. He goes to my school too apparently.”

“Was his older brother there?” Terra asked. Or, at least Ventus thinks that’s what he said, given that he said it around the mountain of pasta in his mouth.

“Vanitas? Yeah, why?”

Thankfully Terra waited to swallow before speaking. Aqua had all but forgotten her own meal, fork still in hand, fascinated and disturbed at his method for eating. “Apparently he’s a menace. Sora complained about him all the time, says he’s ‘feral and unhinged’.”

Ventus bristled, staring into his plate. “He didn’t seem very ‘ _feral and unhinged_ ’ to me, he seemed…Nice.”

Something about the comment felt as if Ventus himself was the one being unsulted. Sure, Vanitas could act a little blunt and rude and intimidating and full of himself and… But that’s all it felt like, an _act_. It never felt like he meant it, and he was capable of being serious and careful with your feelings if he really wanted to.

The silence was unlike his two friends, so he peered upwards to find them giving each other a strange look, one Ventus unfortunately knew all too well.

“It’s not like that!” Ventus complained, but he could feel the warmth in his cheeks. Without the wind to blame it on, he was hopeless. “Shut up!”

“We didn’t even say anything,” Aqua giggled. “But that’s who you’ve been thinking about this whole time, isn’t it? Maybe you should go see him again.”

“I’m not gonna go see him again, don’t be crazy,” Ventus protested, wanting to bury himself into the chair and die. “We already have a tree, I don’t even know if he hates me, just drop it.”

“You should go see him again,” Aqua decided.

“Just be careful,” Terra warned, preparing another forkful. “He might bite.”

“I’m not going!”

“You totally are.”

“ _I’m not!_ ”

•❅──────✧❅✦❅✧──────❅•

Ventus pulled up to the Nore Tree Farm two days later, the snow crunching under the trucks tires as he once again parked right in front of the archway that hung above, watching him, mocking him.

He sighed to himself, thudding his head against the steering wheel a few times, contemplating turning back around before he made an idiot out of himself or drove right off a cliff.

_Knock knock_

He jerked upwards at the two quick raps on the driver’s side window, blinking through the glass as if he was imagining who stood there. He hurried to roll the window down.

“Back already?” Vanitas asked him, amused.

He looked really good today—though he probably looked good every day. Wearing a loose black jacket and tight black jeans, a red scarf wound around his neck, his head free of a hat and hair brushing across the bridge of his nose by the lazy wind. He must have just helped someone lift a tree onto their car, he was slightly out of breath, and that spark in his eyes… Did he almost look happy to see Ventus?

“No, yeah, actually,” Ventus fumbled for words, trying not to be even more embarrassed by Vanitas clearly enjoying his floundering. “The tree got all brown, so I’m here to get another one.”

Vanitas’ eye visibly twitched, his scowl contorting his once graceful features. “That’s impossible. It’s only been a few days, our trees last for weeks.”

Ventus couldn’t quite look into his eyes. “We accidentally put it by the fireplace.”

“You said you didn’t have a fireplace.” Vanitas squinted in suspicion now.

Ventus sweated despite the cold air rushing through his open window. “I meant the heater! Aqua bought a heater and set it next to the tree and I forgot to tell her so the tree dried out and now we need another one.”

He forced himself to stop rambling to take a breath, wondering if Vanitas bought it all.

By the look on his face, he definitely didn’t, but he jerked his head towards the farm despite the confused furrow lingering in his brows. “Come on then, let’s make this quick.”

Vanitas walked away, expecting Ventus to follow, and follow he did, but not before giving his head one last smack against the steering wheel in a desperate attempt to knock some sense into this stupid brain of his.

Aqua said to go by the farm and ask Vanitas when he had a day off, then ask him out to dinner or something. Simple.

Easy for her to say.

Ventus just couldn’t—it was too dumb, too vulnerable, too desperate. He couldn’t imagine the look on Vanitas’ face if he really did that, couldn’t handle the shame and humiliation if he got turned down or even laughed at. Vanitas was hard to read and impossible to predict, so gauging his reaction to such a question wasn’t in the cards. All Ventus knew was that Vanitas always volunteered to help him out when he came back for another tree, but whether that was to spend more time with him or to make fun of him, Ventus couldn’t be sure.

Oh, and he had. Come back for another tree, that is.

4 so far, to be exact.

First his excuse was Aqua setting a heater too close and drying it out. Next it was because his neighbor saw their tree and wanted one for themselves, so Ventus did the nice thing and offered to pick one up for them. Third it was because his pet cat climbed up into it and shredded it to pieces (he didn’t even _have_ a cat!). Lastly it was because the tree rolled right off the back of the truck while driving down the highway, where it promptly got ran over by a giant rig and crushed to pieces.

All of these were lies, obviously.

Ventus’ bank account was weeping, even with the discounts Xion insisted on giving him. And his yard was full of trees. Stupid useless trees that he absolutely didn’t need.

But the expensive trees were a small price to pay if it meant he got to spend more time with Vanitas, which he did.

Past the initial berating and teasing at how clumsy and careless Ventus was, Vanitas would lead the way back through the forest of trees, and it’s like the two of them got lost in their own world back there, the silence of the snow surrounding them and the smell of pine and Vanitas the only thing that mattered. Each time, it seemed Ventus took just a little bit longer in deciding on the perfect tree. And, each time, it seemed Vanitas began to care a little bit less about being forced to wait on him.

Vanitas fit well among the trees, Ventus couldn’t help but think. Especially on the fifth day (“I accidentally poured bleach instead of water into the base— _stop laughing, I’m serious!_ ”), when his soft red flannel shirt matched his boots and his disheveled hair was pulled back into a small ponytail, black strands falling loose around his face to frame his cold red cheeks and clenched jaw as he worked to saw down Ventus’ latest tree.

When Vanitas wasn’t complaining or insulting him or whipping out a sharp saw with a sort of concerning glee, they talked. Ventus asked questions that Vanitas said were annoying, but he answered anyway. About his family, his work here, what else he enjoyed. His favorite music genre (“Anything that’s loud and would give Sora nightmares”), favorite food (“Chocolat.”), what he planned to do with his life (“Take over this place after my grandfather finally dies. Can’t wait for that day”), were all like little secrets that Ventus now got to have all to himself. A few times, Ventus even managed to catch Vanitas being genuinely interested in Ventus’ answers to these questions, though he’d hurry to change the subject afterwards or throw out a mocking insult, but Ventus knew the truth.

Sometimes Ventus would walk a little closer through the rows of trees than necessary, and sometimes he’d notice Vanitas did the same, his heart leaping into his throat any time their sleeves brushed or he looked over in time to see Vanitas had been watching him, his golden eyes hiding curiosity and a warmth Ventus couldn’t quite describe.

After triple checking that the fifth tree was secure in the back of the truck, Vanitas joined him by the driver’s side door, tucking his working gloves back into his pocket. “Alright, _don’t_ destroy it this time, okay?”

Ventus nodded in a flurry, “I won’t, I promise!”

He rolled his eyes and leaned against the truck. “Yeah, whatever you say, pretty boy.”

“You think I’m pretty?”

The question clearly caught Vanitas off guard, his back straightening and crossed arms tightening. “I-I… _You…_ ”

Ventus watched him struggle, enjoying being the one with the upper hand for once. He grinned and mimicked his pose, leaning against the car next to him and crossing his arms, silent, wanting Vanitas to suffer just a little longer.

And suffer he did, eyes flickering anywhere but at Ventus, cheeks tinged just a bit pinker than usual. “T-That’s…”

Seeing Vanitas like this, it gave him a rush of confidence. “Aw, you’re stuttering! Cute.”

Eyes blazing with something both defensive and desperate, Vanitas stared at him. “Shut _up_ , you—”

“Do you want…” Ventus faded off, suddenly unsure of himself, but yet never more sure of anything in his life. He couldn’t keep doing this. He couldn’t live the rest of his life wondering what-if. He needed to push past this and, even if the worst case happened, he would never have to come back here and see Vanitas again.

The thought sent his heart into a panic, warmth crawling its way up his chest and threatening to tighten his throat in its grip. He forced out a breath, eyes trained on the worn collar of Vanitas’ shirt instead of those pressing eyes.

“Do you want to come over and help me set it up?”

Ventus forced it out in a rush, afraid that Vanitas hadn’t heard him when he didn’t speak. He wasn’t sure if he could get himself to speak the words again, sure his skin was as red as the sunset.

His eyes trailed slowly, meekly, back up to Vanitas’ face, afraid of what he might find there when he heard a snicker.

But Vanitas’ eyes were open, honest, his eyebrows quirked as he laughed quietly to himself before speaking. “Took you long enough.”

“Wait, _what?_ You—” Ventus exclaimed but was cut off with a hand over his mouth. Vanitas’ hand, to be specific, his soft palm pressed gently to his lips, calloused fingertips from years of doing what he loved resting against his cheek. His face burned and froze all at once.

“We don’t usually do house calls, but…” Vanitas purred, dropping his eyes and his voice in a dangerous combination that made Ventus’ knees weak. “For such a desperate case, I think I’ll make an exception.”

With a quick brush of his fingers against his chin that Ventus could have easily imagined, Vanitas dropped his hand and rounded the truck to climb into the passenger side, leaving Ventus dazed and stunned, head whirring from the cold Vanitas left in his absence.

Looking back over the tree farm for the final time, Ventus could have sworn he saw Sora and Xion ducked behind the barn gate watching them. Xion passed Sora something that suspiciously looked like cash. Sora looked awfully smug.

Ventus couldn’t help the goofy grin on his face as he pulled open the door, trying and failing to stuff it down as he pulled himself into the driver’s seat.

“What the hell are you smiling about?” Vanitas complained from beside him.

“Nothing,” Ventus grinned.

5th time’s the charm.

**Author's Note:**

> I can't thank you enough for reading this goofy lil fic! Feel free to scream with me about vanven over on twitter too, @CassidyLeora!


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